Broken Family
by Shadow's Kitty
Summary: English version. Zoey has been having family troubles. Her parents are divorced and she has been going through depression. But what happens once Elliot realizes there's something troubling his favorite mew? ZoeyXElliot


Not my characters, just my plot.

*For those who don't know, in Japanese 'Baka' means idiot or fool.

Zoey awoke feeling terrible. Her parents got divorced two years ago, and she hasn't heard anything from her dad for the past two months. Because of all the fighting between her parents she has been having nightmares regularly. It's mostly the same nightmare where her parents start arguing about the fact Zoey is a mew, but sometimes it's not. They don't actually know about her alter ego. Even though it wasn't actually her fault her parents split, she still felt like she was to blame.

She looked at the clock and was glad she had the afternoon shift today, otherwise she would be two hours late. She got out of bed, looked in the mirror and sighed; she looked worse than ever. There were rips in her shirt, under which her claw marks were visible. She definitely had a really physical dream, because she had given herself a black eye. The good thing is that her work uniform would hide the scars of old and new scratches from everyone, no one knows about her family issues, and she can hide the black eye with makeup. Jumping in the shower always seems to help her nerves. After her shower, Zoey put on her iPod, blasting Eminem's song 'Mocking Bird' in her ears.

Her mum had gotten really busy since the divorce, meaning she had no time for her daughter. If she even stopped for a minute she would see how depressed Zoey was getting. She slowly climbed down stairs, grabbed the food her mum had made before going to work. She ate the strawberry pancakes without even tasting them. As she was eating them, Zoey noticed a note her mum had left for her, it read;

 _Zoey,_

 _Your father has asked if you could spend this long weekend with him. You have until Wednesday to decide. Let me know what you choose so I don't get something out for you to have for dinner._

 _Love Mum._

Surprised, she walks into the lounge room and picks up the old family photo from when she was little and her parents were happy. Being the only one home, she lets her walls drop for a little while, sitting on the couch with the photo. Wishing her reality had never changed. Half an hour later she gets up with her face stained by her now drying tears, she marched back up to her bathroom to wash her face. Looking in the mirror she notices how her make-up has run from all the tears. Shit. Once her face is clean she reapplies her make-up, hiding the black eye once again. After her visit to the bath room, Zoey decides to start walking to work, thinking about her dads offer.

As she approaches the building in which she has to go to work she stops and wipes away her gloomy depressed face and switches it for a more happy and optimistic one. She walks into work and just about runs back out the door. The cafe is filled with the sound of crashing dishes and a man yelling at someone, but instead of running out she pretends she is in a drama class and walks into the changing room. Sitting down, she pulls her knees up to her chest and tries to calm her emotions down, the sounds all too familiar to her. As her parents had begun to drift apart her dad used to come home and yell at her mum and when he yelled she would accidentally drop the plates she was about to wash. Even though it's been years since Zoey has heard her parents fight, every day at work brings back all the memories.

Just as Zoey walks out of the changing room she finds herself accidentally running into Elliot.

"Watch where you're going Zoey" The blonde suddenly stares at her, making Zoey quite uncomfortable.

"Sorry Elliot." Looking down she tries to walk away but Elliot gently grabs her arm, turning her towards him.

"Is your eye OK?" He asks as he lightly touches where her makeup must have rub off getting changed.

Wincing slightly as he touches the bruise, laughing lightly "Yeah I'm fine, you know me Elly, being clumsy is my forte. I ran into the cupboard door again." Shaking his head, the boy let her go to start work for the day. Once she's out of his sight Zoey sneaks into the pantry to fill her salt shaker, truthfully she's trying to calm her frantic heart down.

Putting her head against the wall as she thinks; 'It's OK Zoey, he bought it. He still believes you're the same clumsy idiot he met three years ago. So calm down and get working'. Smiling she gets to work, running around and doing her usual act of; getting flustered at Corina, complaining to Elliot, being given cake to stop whining then cleaning the cafe by herself once the place is shut.

On the way home she decides to take a detour, wanting to sit in the park where she and Mark once spent time together. She chooses a nice branch and climbs up into the tree above where the couple had many memories. Leaning against the trunk of the tree she closes her eyes and lets her emotions run through her. There's not as many these days compared to when her parents first announced the divorce.

Back then she used to be very angry, at her dad. But she was also sad, lonely and was convinced it was her fault that her parents no longer wanted to be together. She believed her dad no longer wanted her, as time progressed she believed the same about her mum. That is, until her mum snapped one night and told Zoey that her dad had another daughter. This news had stunned Zoey; she didn't want to believe it so she had hid in her room until her mum left for work. After that her mum had more and more shifts at the hospital meaning Zoey couldn't ask the questions on her mind; 'How old is my sister' 'Does Dad still love me, why doesn't he call?'. Too many questions that it still makes her head hurt.

But the difference now is she isn't angry at her dad, just confused and upset. Maybe if she visits him this weekend, then maybe, just maybe, he will answer all her questions. However, he lives with his other daughter and Zoey isn't entirely sure if she's ready to meet this half-sister of hers. Closing her eyes, the pink haired girl lets the numbness of feeling nothing run through her body. Some call it being depressed but Zoey doesn't care, it's the feeling that helps her to get through the day without cutting.

To Zoey, being numb is better than being sad or anything else for that matter. Because she believes, if you're numb then nothing can hurt you. The hardest thing for the young woman about the whole situation is not just her parents parting but because her neighbors fight most nights which reminds Zoey of how it all started.

Without realizing it, she falls asleep in the tree as the sun sets. She usually tries to avoid falling asleep in public but today she is just past the point of caring. What she doesn't know is that every evening Elliot likes to take a stroll through the park. So when she falls out of the tree to the ground due to a nightmare, she gets the shock of her life when she's not on the ground but in Elliot's arms. What scares Zoey the most is that he's not looking at her face, but that he's looking at her stomach. At all the scratches and claw marks, the old and the new.

"E-Elliot, what are you doing here?" she gasps, trying to get him to look away from her scars as she wiggles out of his arms. Gently he puts her down but doesn't let go of her as he gently keeps hold of her wrist.

"I go for a walk through the forest every night Zoey. But now we are both going back to the cafe and you are going to explain why you have claw scars on your stomach and the truth about your black eye." Holding her arm firmly he begins to lead her back to the little cafe. Not wanting him to know the truth, she improvises and pretends to trip over her feet. His firm grip releases as he kneels to help her up, but she won't let him. Instead she bolts, racing for her house. She can hear his footsteps behind her as they both run.

As she nears her street she realizes too late that he isn't giving up and knows exactly where she's going. She risks a quick look over her shoulder and stops dead still when she sees he's not behind her anymore. 'Fuck he's found a short cut' she tries to think of her safe hiding places, smirks and turns back the way she came and hides in a little kiddies park. Sitting behind the slide, she wonders how long it will take for him to give in and go home. She lays her bag on the ground and curls up, not caring anymore as she falls asleep with mini mew against her chest.

Zoey dreams that she is back in her house, but she's not herself instead she realizes it's her mother's eyes she is seeing through. As Zoey washes the dishes, she hears the front door shut. Dread takes over as she knows what will happen but is helpless to stop it. A man walks into the kitchen, furious for some unknown reason. Zoey takes a chance, turning around to see her father taking off his belt. She steps back; trying to distance herself from him but the sink interrupts her escape.

"Stupid bitch, think I wouldn't know that you drained my bank" he says as one long arm brings the belt flying toward Zoey's face. She cries out in pain, wrapping her arms around herself, digging her claws into herself. Knowing it's easier for her to hurt herself then to act out against this man; making the punishment worse.

"Hey, hey, it's OK Strawberry." Kneeling in front of her curled up form, Zoey nearly screams when she wakes up from the nightmare to find Elliot in her hidey hole. Gently he pulls her to him, cradling her against his chest. "It's OK Zoey, it OK. Now tell me what sort of nightmare leaves you too scared to talk to your friends and causes you to claw at yourself?" he asks gently, smoothing back her hair.

Shaking her head, she tries to push away from him but he won't let her budge. It's been so long since anyone has really hugged her that being in his arms finally causes Zoey to break. Hiding her face in his shoulder, she begins to cry her eyes out. It's the first time in nearly a year that she's properly cried. All the while, Elliot gently rubs her back and kisses her hair.

When she finishes crying, she wipes her eyes and looks up at him. "Why do you care so much about why I'm like this?" He smiles slightly at the question.

"Baka, it's because I want you to be mine. I care about you Zoey. How have you not noticed that in three years?" shaking his head. "Now, tell me what's been going on with you."

Looking down, she says quietly "my parents got divorced two years ago." Slowly, she peeks up at him, checking his expression; soft and caring.

"So is that why you've been having nightmares that end in physical harm?" He asks, softly pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. As she nods, he frowns.

Gently he picks her up, carrying her like a baby as he starts to walk away from the park. Quietly she asks where he's taking her, but she's so worn out from the day that she falls asleep in Elliot's arms before he can even answer.

Sunlight shines on Zoey's face, waking the girl up. Opening her eyes, she realises that it's not her bed that she is laying in. Looking around the room, she spots Elliot lying on a couch. Warmth spreads through her cheeks as she remembers the night before; he said he wanted her. And not even in a sexual way but in a relationship kind of way. She smiles a real smile for the first time since her parent's divorce.

Quietly she climbs out of the bed, walking over to Elliot's sleeping form. Softly she moves hair out of his face. Smiling softly she goes to turn away but his hand catches her by the wrist.

"Morning Strawberry," he yawns as he pulls her onto the couch he's now sitting on, earning a gasp from her. Smiling, he gently wraps his arms around her. "How was your sleep?"

Carefully leaning into him, not completely sure what is happening here. "It was ok, first time without a single nightmare or dream." She says, making him smile.

"It's probably because you weren't by yourself last night; I was here the whole time." He softly kisses her cheek, making her blush return tenfold. "Come on, I'll take you home now." He leads her out of the room, pulling on a shirt.

As they arrive at Zoey's house, she grabs the spare key from under a flower pot. Once the door is unlocked, she invites Elliot in with her. Handing him the TV remote; "Here, watch anything you want, I'm just going to take a shower."

She bolts up the stairs to her room so she can find a clean outfit before her shower. Her taste in clothes has changed a bit. She pulls out a black shirt with a collar along with a pair of jeans. Nodding to herself, she heads into the bathroom for a quick shower. Turning the hot water on to relax her over stressed muscles she decides to check her body over for nightmare damage. Along her stomach and thighs, she notices scars criss-cross everywhere. She closes her eyes as she washes her hair. As she finishes washing herself, she closes her eyes to avoid seeing the scars.

Wrapping a towel around her body, Zoey walks back into her room. Quickly getting dried and dressed. She heads back down stairs to Elliot, finding him standing at the table. "Sorry I took so long." He turns around at the sound of her voice.

"Zoey, what's this?" he asks, holding up the note from her mum. "Or more importantly; what's your answer to the offer?"

She looks down, biting her lip. "I don't know what to say, I have until tomorrow to decide."

Softly, Elliot lifts her chin up to face him. "Do you want me to go with you?" She nods her head, making him smile. Gently he presses his lips to hers. "I'll give your dad a call and let him know what's happening." Elliot grabs a pencil and writes a note to Zoey's mum, letting her also know what was happening.

"One more important question; Will you be my girlfriend Zoey?"

Gasping at his forwardness, she smiles and kisses his cheek. "Of course I will Elly."

He picks her up, smiling as he spins her around in a circle; making her giggle. Putting her back on her feet, he softly kisses her forehead as he tells her how beautiful she is.

Author note:

I started this story ages ago (2013), when I re-found it I got that interested in it I wanted to read more only to remember that this is my story. It's good to get my creative juices flowing again.

Please read and review.

S.k.


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